Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. “It will happen. There is a date,” Netanyahu declared in a video statement Monday, without elaborating. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians. Netanyahu spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli troops withdrew Sunday from Khan Younis, another city in southern Gaza, ending a key phase of the war. Defense officials say they’re regrouping ahead of a push into Rafah. Palestinians who visited Khan Younis on Monday say the city is now unlivable, offering them little immediate chance to return. Many have been sheltering in Rafah. The Palestinian death toll from the war has passed 33,200, with nearly 76,000 wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
Quick Read
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has escalated his pledge to invade Rafah in Gaza, stating a specific date is set without giving further details. The U.S. has expressed opposition to this move, demanding a credible plan to protect civilians.
- Turkey’s request for its military cargo planes to join a humanitarian aid operation for Gaza was rejected by Israel, leading to Turkey’s announcement of taking a series of measures against Israel.
- Mapping experts have reported that over 55% of Khan Younis in Gaza appears to have suffered damage or destruction visible from space, accounting for around 45,000 buildings.
- Israel is preparing for the potential evacuation of Palestinians from Rafah by purchasing 40,000 tents, anticipating the displacement of hundreds of thousands due to a planned military offensive.
- The Gaza Health Ministry reports an increase in casualties, with 32 people killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 33,207 since the conflict began on October 7.
- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have jointly called for Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza and seek a peaceful solution in accordance with UN resolutions.
- Israeli military claims to have killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, marking one of the most senior militants killed since the conflict’s escalation.
- Australia appoints retired national defense chief Mark Binskin to investigate the Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
- Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqa, convicted in the 1984 killing of an Israeli soldier, dies of cancer in an Israeli hospital, sparking concerns about the conditions of Palestinian prisoners amid the ongoing conflict.
The Associated Press has the story:
Netanyahu vows to carry out Rafah invasion, US says it would be a mistake
Newslooks- JERUSALEM — (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, declaring: “There is a date.”
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel must send ground forces into Rafah, saying it is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza.
But the international community, including the U.S., opposes the operation, saying the roughly 1.4 million civilians seeking shelter there will be in danger.
Israel has insisted it has a plan to protect the civilians.
In a video statement Monday, Netanyahu said the Rafah operation is essential for victory. He said, “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators were in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
TURKEY SAYS ISRAEL REJECTED ITS REQUEST TO HELP GAZA AID AIR DROPS
ANKARA, Turkey — Israel has rejected a Turkish request for its military cargo planes to join a humanitarian aid operation for Gaza, Turkey’s foreign minister said Monday, adding that Ankara would respond by imposing a series of measures against Israel.
In a televised announcement, Hakan Fidan said Turkey — of the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza — would continue to implement the measures until Israel declares “a cease-fire and allows aid to enter into Gaza without interruption.” The minister did not say what those measures would entail.
Fidan said Jordan had approved NATO-member Turkey’s planes joining an operation to air drop aid, but Israel rejected the request
“There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to deliver aid by air to starving people of Gaza,” Fidan said. “Faced with this situation, we decided to take a series of new measures against Israel. These measures, approved by our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) will be implemented step by step, without delay.”
ISRAELI OFFENSIVE IN KHAN YOUNIS DAMAGED MORE THAN HALF OF ALL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY, MAP EXPERTS SAY
JERUSALEM – A pair of mapping experts say Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis appears to have left over half of the city’s buildings with damage or destruction visible from space.
As of last week, over 55% of the city’s buildings were likely damaged or destroyed, according to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University. They say that accounts for 45,000 buildings.
Still, the damage in Khan Younis and other parts of the Strip’s south is considerably less than in the north of Gaza, where the researchers estimate 70% of buildings were likely damaged or destroyed.
Israel’s ground and aerial bombardment campaign, begun after the Hamas attack Oct. 7, has wreaked unprecedented damage on the strip, leveling entire apartment buildings and leaving much of the territory in ruins, a moonscape from war.
Israel withdrew its last ground troops from Khan Younis on Sunday, marking the end of a key phase in its war against Hamas.
ISRAEL TO BUY 40,000 TENTS TO EVACUATE PALESTINIANS FROM RAFAH, ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS
JERUSALEM — An Israeli official confirms that Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold and is vowing to send ground troops into the city. But the international community, including the U.S., opposes the offensive, saying it would endanger Palestinian civilians.
More than 1 million Palestinians, over half of Gaza’s population, have fled to Rafah after being displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Israel has said it has a plan to evacuate civilians ahead of its offensive, and Israel’s Defense Ministry on Monday published a tender seeking a supplier of tents.
The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the tents were part of the Rafah preparations.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY REPORTS 32 PEOPLE KILLED IN LAST 24 HOURS
CAIRO — The Health Ministry in Gaza on Monday said the bodies of 32 people killed in Israel’s bombardment have been brought to hospitals in the beleaguered territory in the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 47 wounded people, it said.
The fresh fatalities brought the death toll in the strip to 33,207 since the war began on Oct. 7, it said.
The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but said two thirds of the dead are children and women. The Israeli military says it has killed 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The ministry said 75,933 people have been wounded.
The ministry said many casualties remain under the rubble and first responders have been unable to retrieve them amid the relentless bombing.
PAKISTAN AND SAUDI ARABIA CALL ON ISRAEL TO HALT ITS MILITARY OPERATIONS IN GAZA
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza and seek a peaceful solution to the conflict in line with UN resolutions.
The two countries made the demands in a joint statement on Monday after a meeting between Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Mecca.
The two sides called for international efforts “to halt Israeli military operations in Gaza, mitigate humanitarian impact and underscored the imperative for the international community to pressure Israel to cease hostilities, adhere to international law, and facilitate unhindered humanitarian aid access to Gaza,” according to the statement.
They also discussed the need for a peace process in accordance with UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative “aimed at finding a just and comprehensive solution, for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT KILLED A HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER IN LEBANON
BEIRUT — Israel’s military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.
Ali Ahmad Hussein is one of the most senior militants killed since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging fire at the start of the war in Gaza. His killing comes as regional tensions soar after an apparent Israeli attack last week on Iran’s consulate in Syria, threatening to spark a wider conflagration.
The Israeli military said two other Hezbollah militants were also killed in the strike early Monday.
Hezbollah announced the death of Ali Ahmad Hussein but did not give any details on the circumstances or his role within the group, in line with how they announce the deaths of their members.
The Israeli military said he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Sultaniyeh. It said in a statement that Hussein was responsible for carrying out attacks on northern Israel. Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops have clashed along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since Oct. 8. Hezbollah says it would stop firing rockets once a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip that would end the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli officials have been demanding that the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area in order to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return home.
AUSTRALIA APPOINTS EX-DEFENSE CHIEF TO LOOK INTO ISRAELI STRIKE THAT KILLED 7 AID WORKERS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia has appointed retired national defense chief Mark Binskin to look into how Israel Defense Forces came to kill seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, in Gaza last week.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday he expected Israel would fully cooperate with Binskin as Australia’s special adviser on Israel’s response to the missile strikes on three aid vehicles.
“We would expect that someone of Mr. Binskin’s stature, frankly, will be given every cooperation from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We don’t find the explanations to be satisfactory to this point,” Albanese added.
The seven aid workers’ deaths had “shaken the world,” Albanese said, adding it is “unacceptable” that almost 200 aid workers have died since the conflict began in October last year.
Binskin, who served as Australian Defense Force chief from 2014 to 2018, will advise the government on the “sufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken by the Israeli government” in response to the fatal attack, which the Israeli military has described as a tragic error, a government statement said.
PALESTINIAN PRISONER CONVICTED IN 1984 KILLING OF ISRAELI SOLDIER DIES OF CANCER, ISRAEL SAYS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli authorities say a Palestinian prisoner convicted in the 1984 killing of a soldier has died in a hospital after he was battling cancer.
Walid Daqa, who was an Israeli citizen, was sentenced to life in prison following the killing of soldier Moshe Tamam. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, said he was slated for release next year. He was one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israeli media said he died Sunday.
The plight of prisoners in Israeli jails is deeply sensitive to Palestinians, many of whom have relatives who have served time in Israeli prisons. Their conditions in prison are closely followed and deaths while in custody, even under natural circumstances, can heighten tensions, which are already high amid the war in Gaza.
The fate of the prisoners is under particularly close watch now because Israel is expected to release many as part of a deal that emerges between it and Hamas meant to bring about a cease-fire in the war and the release of hostages taken captive into Gaza.
The prisoners club said Israel had excluded Daqa from all previous prisoner exchange deals, as he had been characterized as a high-risk prisoner.
Hamas accused Israel of “deliberate medical negligence” in Daqa’s death. In a statement Monday, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Daqa died of natural causes.
